The sale of Davenport's Rhythm City Casino may have reached a dead end.
Just one month after it told the Iowa Gaming Board that negotiations were moving in a positive direction.
The Isle of Capri company did not say much.
It gave a very short sale update to the Racing and Gaming Commission.
And the commissioners didn't ask any questions.
A spokesperson says, "Despite a great deal of time and energy, it does not appear the transaction will occur."
That's a much different tone than what we heard at the last racing meeting.
The Isle of Capri said they had responded to some comments from the buyer.
And said the sale was moving in a positive direction.
That led Davenport Alderman Gene Meeker and the city attorney to head up to this month's meeting in Dubuque.
They thought there would be more of an update to hear.
But Thursday's short update doesn't give the alderman a lot of confidence that a deal will happen anytime soon.
"We have found in this length of time that nobody is standing in line to buy casinos, today, it's a major purchase, it takes a lot of money to buy a license, not only to build a facility, so it takes a substantial investment."
Davenport's two year development agreement with developer MSEG expires this November.
MSEG is the development company that would buy the current gaming boat and build a new facility on land.
While also lining up an operator of that new casino.
The city wants to see that happen.
But as time continues to move forward, it's unclear when those plans would ever take shape.
